Cracker-case.



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ATTORNEY.

PATENTE) JUNE 5, 1906.

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GRAGKER CASE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR.31. 1906. v

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IHMI Il No. 822,627. PATENTED 'JUNE 5, 1906.

J. N. PHBNIS.

GRAGKBR CASE.

APPLICATION FILED Mmm. 1906.

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Il mi HumlhnlllInl mil Qcam@ @M B17/WMM ff ATTORNEY.

'UNITED STATES JOSEPH N. PHENIS, OFV RICHMOND, INDIANA.

CRACKER-CASE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1906.

Application filed March 31, 1906. Serial No.309,041.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known, that I, JOSEPH N. PHENIs, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Richmond, in the county of Wayne and in the State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cracker-Cases, of which the following is a full, complete, and comprehensive specification, being such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same with absolute exactitude.

My present invention contemplates more particularly a cracker-case with means therein contained for heating the crackers and retaining them in a warm condition and free from moisture.

The object of my invention, broadly speaking, is the provision of a cracker-case or cabinet which will be neat and attractive in appearance, strong and durable in construction, easily operated and maintained, and which can be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low price.

More particularly stated, my object is to provide a cracker-case adapted to contain a quantity of crackers or the like and'having means for maintaining the crackers at a substantially uniform degree of temperature, being such that the crackers will be retained dry and warm to be retailed in small quantities and will be delivered crisp and fresh; and, finally, my obj ect is to provide a cracker-case which will be very easy of access both in delivering crackers thereto and in removing them therefrom, means for heating the crackers Without imparting the fuel odor thereto, and means for regulating the heat.

Other particular objects and specific advantages will present themselves in the course of the ensuing specification.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is exhibited most clearly in the accompanying two sheets of drawings, in which- Figure l is a front perspective view of my cracker-case complete. dinal central section of my invention. Fig. 3 is a rear perspective view of my invention complete. Fig. 4 is a central cross-section of the invention, and Fig. 5 is a detail plan view of a part ofthe rear central porton.

Similar indices denote like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In order that my invention may be more fully understood and its advantages readily appreciated, I will now take up a detail description thereof and will refer to the various Fig. 2 is a longituparts and the operation thereof as briefly and as compactly as I may.

My invention is divisible, for convenience of description, into siX main parts, which may be designated as follows: the front A, the back B, the ends O and D, the top E, and the bottom F, said parts being assembled together forming a box-like case or receptacle. A more minute or detail description of said parts is as follows: rIhe front A comprises a paneled section divided into the upper and lower portions, and in the upper portion may be placed two glass plates a and a, and in the center of the lower portion is a door 1, mounted to swing open on hinges and having a catch to secure it closed. The back B comprises a paneled section divided into the upper, the lower, and central portions, and in the upper portion may be placed two opaque panels b and b. The lower portion includes the relatively long horizontal panel having located centrally therein the round glass window b and the central portion having therein a door 2, which is mounted to open downward on hinges and having a catch to secure it closed. The end O comprises a panel divided into the upper and the lower portions, and in the upper portion may be placed two glass windows c and c', the lower portion being composed of a single panel, as shown. The end D comprises a panel-section divided into the upper and the lower portions, and in the upper portion may be placed two glass Windows d and d', the lower portion being a single panel, as shown. to loosely rest on the upper edges of the front, back, and sides above described,being adapted to be held in place laterally by two cleats e and e', secured across the under side thereof and adapted to be disposed against the inner upper vedges of the respective ends D and O. The bottom F is secured to the lower edges of the front, rear, and sides, thereby inclosing the lower portion or base of the case.

The interior of the case assembled as described is divided interiorly into upper and lower spaces by the partition 3. Said partition is secured by its upturned edges to the inner faces of the front, back, and rear members of the case and is disposed at an angle slanting downward from the front A to the back B, substantially as shown in Fig. 4L.

In the center of the partition 3 is formed an aperture in which is secured the smaller portion of the hood 4, which hood simulates an inverted funnel, its mouth projecting down The top E is adapted TOO IIO

intov the lower space and its apex projecting into the upper space of the case. Extending upward from the hood 4 and permanently secured thereto is the caliduct, consisting of the vertical member 5, having joined to its upper end the horizontal member 6 branching to right and left. From the ends of the latter the members 7 7 extend downward. From the latter the respective members 8 and 8 extend downward. From the latter the members 9 and 9 extend upward. From the latter the members 10 and 10 extend upward and outward at angles to near the center of the upper ends of the respective members D and C, and to the members 10 and 10 are joined the horizontal short members 11 and 11, which extend out through apertures therefor in the respective members D and C. On the outer ends of the members 11 and 11 are revoluble dampers or regulators 12 and 12', respectively, whereby the discharge of the caliducts are controllable.

The letter H designates a lamp having a chimney adapted to be positioned directly below the hood, whereby when the lamp is burning the heat therefrom is directed from the chimney thereof into the hood and conveyed into the caliduct, passing through the circuitous routes thereof and radiating theren from into the upper portion of the case, the smoke and fumes from the lamp passing out through the dampers. The lamp H is adapted to rest on the bottom F, as shown in the drawings.

Oxygenous air is supplied to the lamp through the damper J in the door 1. The partition 3 should be supported intermediate its length by the two braces or supports K and K, on which the partition rests, said braces being secured at their ends to the inner faces of the front A and back B.

Projecting inward from the inside of the back B and disposed immediately over the aperture of the door 2 is the deflector 13, which is directed slightly downward and toward the partition 3, as shown in Figs, 4 and 5. The lower edge of the aperture for the door 2 is even with the lower rear edge of the tition 3 is an auxiliary sheet-metal door 14, adapted when closed to contact with the inner face of the door 2, as in Fig. 4, and when the door 2 is opened out said door 14 will drop down horizontal, as in Fig. 3, thereby forming a shelf, as indicated.

In order to prevent crackers from becoming lodged in the rear corners of the case, I provide the corner-pieces 15 and 15, one point of which extends from near the lower corners of the door 14 and thence upward at angles and being secured to the back B, the partition 3, and the respective ends substantially as indicated, and the ends of the deiiector 13 are joined with and secured to said corner-pieces, as indicated.

Operation: The case as described is intended to be placed upon a counter or pedestal,

and heat should be continually supplied by the lamp, or other means of supplying heat may be employed. The lid E may be removed and a quantity of crackers may be placed in the case, resting them on the partition 3, and of course they will assemble around the various parts of the caliduct. It is readily apparent that the crackers will be heated or warmed by the heat radiated from the caliduct and from the metal partition 3. Now by opening the door 2 the auxiliary door 14 will be pressed out, assuming the position shown in Fig. 3, when it may be used as a shoveling-board, and the desired amount of crackers may be removed from the case by a suitable scoop. When the door 2 is being closed, it will of necessity force the door 14 back to its vertical position, which will prevent the crackers from getting under the lower edge of the door 2, which would prevent the door 2 from being closed. The inclination of the partition 3 and the corner-pieces 15 and 15 is such as will cause all of the crackers to converge to the aperture of the door 2, where they will be easily ascessible for removal, as stated. Access to the lamp H is obtained through the aperture for the door 1, and the condition of the lamp may be observed from Vthe other side 0f the case through the glass window t.

While I have illustrated and described the best means now known to me for carrying out the objects of my invention in a practical manner, I desire that it be understood that I do not restrict myself to the exact details of construction shown and described, but hold that changes or variations therein, such as would suggest themselves to the ordinary mechanic, would clearly fall within the limits and scope of this invention. y

Theterms"front, rear, ends, rightj left, and other similar terms are employed herein simply for convenience of description, and it is not intended by the use of such terms to limit the scope of this invention or the-location of the several parts. partition 3, and hinged to the edge of the parj Having now fully shown and described my invention and the best manner for its construction to me known at this time, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, ise- 1. A cracker-case comprising a box-like case having a removable top, a partition dividing the interior of the case into two parts, said partition being disposed at an angle, a door located at the central lower edge of the partition, an auxiliary door operative with the first-named door, means for directing the contents of the upper portion of the case to said door, a hood disposed centrally through said partition, a caliduct extending upward and to the right and left from said hood in irregular lines to their outlets in the upper TOO IIO

IIS

portions of the ends of the case, heating means located in the lower portion of the case and adapted to heat said partition and the caliduct, all substantially as shown and described and for the purposes set forth.

2. A cracker-case consisting of a front, back and ends, a removable top and a permanent bottom, in combination with au inclined partition dividing the interior of the case into upper and lower spaces, means whereby the crackers will be conducted by gravity to a converging point in the upper space, a door adapted to close said converging-point, an auxiliary door controlled by the irst-named door, a system of pipes forming a caliduct from the lower space of the case up into and out at the ends of the upper space, heating means located in the lower space, means for directing the heat into said caliduct, means for controlling the exits of the caliduct, and means whereby the interior of the case may be viewed without opening the case, all substantially as shown and described and for the purposes set forth.

3. A cracker-case comprising a receptacle having means for viewing the interior without opening the case, a partition dividing the interior into upper and lower spaces, said partition being disposed at an angle, means for conducting the contents of the upper space by gravity to a door-aperture, a door opening outward for closing said aperture, an auxiliary door operative in conjunction with the first-named door, heating means located in the lower space of the case, a caliduct extending from the lower space 1n two irregular routes through the upper space and having exits outside the case, means for obtaining access to the lower space, and means for obtaining access to the upper space, all substantially as set forth.

4. In a cracker-case, a partition through the central portion ofthe case forming an'upe per storage-chamber and a lower heat1ngchamber, a removable top for obtaining access to the storage-chamber, heating means contained in the lower chamber, means for viewing the interior of the case when it 1s closed, means for providing a vortex in the storage-chamber, a door adapted to open at said vortex, an auxiliary door guarding the irst door and providing a shoveling-board whereby the contents of the storage-chamber may be removed by av scoop, a caliduct extending up from the heating-chamber into the storage-chamber dividing and forming corresponding irregular routes and assing out at the ends of the case, and means tor controlling the exits of the caliduct, all substan tially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name to this specication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH N. PHENIS.

Witnesses:

ROBERT W. RANDLE, R. E. HANDLE; 

